Pope Francis Promises Never to Pardon Priests Convicted of Abuse and Admits Church Too Slow in Facing up to the Problem

Pope Francis Promises Never to Pardon Priests Convicted of Abuse and Admits Church Too Slow in Facing up to the Problem

Francis admitted he had made a mistake with softening the sentence of abusive ex-priest, Mauro Inzoli, and said he had learnt from this

►Pope Francis says he will never pardon priests convicted of sexual abuse while admitting the Church waited too long before taking the matter seriously.

Talking during his first ever meeting with the papal abuse commission today (21 September), the Pope said there can be no place in the priesthood for those who harm children and that he had learnt from his own mistakes in handling such cases.

Francis met the group for an hour and rather than speaking from a prepared speech gave 20 minutes of off-the-cuff remarks.

One of the 14 members of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors present at the meeting was Baroness Hollins, a professor of psychiatry and member of the House of Lords.

“He [Pope Francis] said if pedophilia is proven then he will never pardon an ordained priest and that the Church has come late to an understanding of how serious this matter is,” she told The Tablet afterwards. “He is completely committed to trying to get the Church to address this properly and he said he felt deeply ashamed about what has happened.”

The Pope faced criticism earlier this year when it emerged he had softened a sentence of laicisation against Mauro Inzoli, 67, an abusive priest in the Diocese of Crema. Inzoli has since been laicised.

During his meeting with the commission the Pope admitted this was a mistake, confessing that he thought at the time he was dealing with matter in “the most benevolent way.” Francis added, however, that he learnt from this and would never do it again.

“Whoever is sentenced for sexual abuse of children can turn to the Pope for pardon,” but he stressed he had “never signed one of these and will never sign.”

Pedophilia an “Illness”

Describing pedophilia as an “illness” Francis admitted that the Church had not faced up to the problem of abuse quickly enough: it was, he said, thanks to a number of “prophetic” men and women that the matter was now being taking seriously.

He stressed that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican department which acts as a clearing house for abuse case, will be getting more resources. There have been complaints that the congregation has been understaffed and that cases are being processed too slowly.

Baroness Hollins described the Pope’s talk as “very honest” adding that she believes he understands the gravity of the problem.

In the official text prepared for the meeting, Francis re-iterated a “zero tolerance” approach on sexual abuse and pointed out he had implemented new laws to hold accountable any bishops and religious superiors who are negligent when handling cases.

“We are ashamed of the abuses committed by holy ministers, who should be the most trustworthy,” the Pope explained. “Let me say quite clearly that sexual abuse is a horrible sin, completely opposite and in contradiction to what Christ and the Church teach us.”

The papal safeguarding commission is meeting in Rome for its bi-annual general gathering whether they will assess recommendations for improved protection of children and vulnerable adults within the Church, and care for people who have been abused. These will then be submitted to the Pope for his approval. Francis has so far accepted all the group’s recommendations.

Earlier this year the commission suffered a blow when Marie Collins, a sexual abuse survivor from Ireland, resigned due to what she said was internal resistance to the group’s work by the CDF.

Ms Collins has continued to offer her advice to the Church and was in Rome earlier this month to address a group of recently ordained bishops at a Vatican organized conference.

The sexual abuse scandal has dogged the Church for years with last week the Holy See announcing it was recalling a diplomat from Washington for a “possible violation of laws relating to child pornography images.” ◘

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Prayer for Blessed Takayama’s Intercession

The final condition for Ukon Takayama’s canonization is that miracles be obtained through his intercession.

Let us therefore address ourselves to our saintly brother and ask Divine Providence to grant us through his intercessions what is impossible to man, be it a miraculous cure or something else which God Almighty alone is able to do. Let us have great confidence in the powerful intercession of this distinguished Servant of God, who will not fail to reward the heroic deeds in His Service by granting us our request, even if it would call for a great miracle. Favors obtained through Blessed Ukon Takayama’s intercession should be reported to the Bishop of your diocese so as to be presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The following prayer may properly serve the purpose and ought to be addressed to the Lord by as many as possible, whenever human means fail to help us in our needs.

PRAYER

God, in Your Wonderful Providence, You have chosen Justus Ukon Takayama to be a singular promoter of Your Kingdom, and an undaunted witness to the Catholic Faith -- Reward, we beseech you, his zeal for Your Glory, and graciously grant us what we humbly ask through his intervention.

Grant us also that following his example, we may bravely bear all trials for the sake of our holy Catholic Faith. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Pope Francis on Twitter

LORD TAKAYAMA JUBILEE FOUNDATION

The LORD TAKAYAMA JUBILEE FOUNDATION was registered on September 29, 1988 by Filipino and Japanese history buffs to support Philippine research into the life and times of the illustrious Japanese feudal governor, Justus Ukon Takayama (1552-1615).